Gravel Bike - Cycling trip in Kirghizistan
10 days from 2695 € per participant
Guaranteed departure from 5 people
KIGB1001 
Maximum altitude 3500 m
Stamina level : 2 Pros
- Varied landscapes and breathtaking passes throughout the journey
- Crossing Kyrgyzstan from south to north at a reasonable pace to make the most of the experience
- Unforgettable encounters and the kindness of the Kyrgyz people
- Perfectly organised and comfortable to ride in the best possible conditions
- Comfortable accommodation in yurts and homestay accomodation
In a nutshell
The Silk Roads, just the name alone is an invitation to travel. Like the roads to Santiago de Compostela, there are many Silk Roads, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Our journey begins on the Chinese border, in the land of the Uighurs. Travelling across vast high plains, we pass through the magnificent caravanserai of Tash Rabat, the largest and best preserved, nestling at an altitude of 3,000m. Comfortably settled in your yurt, you'll have plenty of time to let your mind wander to the life that used to be here, to the camel caravans braving the cold, to the fear of brigands... Listen to the wind blowing outside and sleep tight!
Be prepared! There's no more tarmac, and you're going to get an eyeful as the landscape unfolds through the viewfinder! Every moment on your bike, you'll be telling yourself that you're lucky and that you've made the right choices... This adventure is full of wonderful encounters and landscapes, and you'll be riding alongside dozens of free-roaming horses that suddenly decide to run alongside you like in a Marlboro advert .... On the way down to the magnificent Son Kol lake, you ride over some amazing passes, almost gliding downhill as you fly over the gravel! Really, this trip and its logistical organisation are one of our pearls, we love it and we're proud of it!
In the evening, our noses full of dust and our eyes full of stars after sunsets worthy of a spaghetti western, we make the most of being in comfortable accommodation or a camp organised by our team... There, you slip into your birk, light your pipe and have a beer or two, telling yourself that you're in the right place at the right time and that you did the right thing by following your instincts. Well done! What an adventure!
Day to day
Day 1 - Welcome in Bishkek and transfer to Naryn
Welcome at the airport, bags and bikes collected. Transfer to the hotel in Bishkek. Rest, breakfast/lunch and assembly of the bikes with the help of our guide. Magnificent transfer of around 3 hours to the small town of Naryn. Check-in, dinner and overnight stay.
Meals included: breakfast/lunch depending on arrival time, dinner.
D2 - Naryn - Tash Rabat
Breakfast and an early start, as we will be dropping off for the start of the journey at 3600m on the Chinese border. It's a big day and it can get cold, so make sure you have everything you need to cover up and stop the wind. Today is mainly downhill! On the left, you can see the big glaciers covering an imposing mountain range that marks the border with China. At the end of the day, it's a gradual 15 km climb over gravel in breathtaking surroundings to reach the Tash Rabat caravanserai. Dinner and overnight in the yurts next to the caravanserai.
95km / + 700m / - 1200m - road and 15 km gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D3 - Tash Rabat - Baetovo
Cool. It's cool in the morning here! We have a beautiful day ahead of us, with two magnificent passes to cross: Kulak Pass at 3393m and Meels Pass at 3395m. The route winds its way between high plains, rock formations and vast ridges from the top of which the world seems to belong to us. The first part of the descent from the second pass is a little bumpy. An interminable, unique descent to the village of Betovo, where we will be stopping this evening.
82km / + 2280m / - 1250m - gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D4 - Baetovo - Jangi Talap bivouac
Cool day, no stress! We set off along the (broken) road, downhill and flat, with a complete change of scenery amidst the crops. We leave the plains once again to tackle the mountains and reach our bivouac site under the trees beside a pleasant little river. A lovely evening by the fire with our local team.
60km/ + 450m/ - 400m - road and gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D5 - Moldo Ashu pass and San Kol lake
After breakfast, we head upstream along the Kyptka river, through a new landscape of fir forests, before tackling the very impressive, but not so steep, Moldo Ashu pass. Crazy views, crazy route, crazy experience. Full throttle descent to the magnificent San Kol lake at 3000m altitude. Many free-roaming horses accompany you, a magnificent sight! Arrival at the comfortable yurt camp where, after a hot shower, we spend a very pleasant evening...
45km/+ 305m/ - 1335m - gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D6 - San Kol - Kuyruchuk
Another different day, as we skirt around the eastern shore of the lake, with its beaches where the bravest can swim, to the yurt camp at the foot of the Tuz Ashu pass (3310m). Lunch in the yurts and climb the pass through the pastures. The first few kilometres of the descent shake your socks, then it's pure pleasure all the way to the villages of Kizart and Kuyruchuk, where we'll be staying with locals or in a camp.
70km/+ 600m/ - 1600m - gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D7 - Kuychuruk - Kizil Oy
We set off again. The first stretch of road is less pleasant but not to be missed. Lunch in the town of Chaek. After Chaek, the road is again superb and quiet. At Aral, we find a magnificent track that leads us up a beautiful gorge to our stopover for the evening: the pretty village of Kyzil Oy. Overnight with a local.
80km/ + 600m / - 830m - road - gravel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D8 - Suusamyr et retour Bishkek
We drive to the village of Suusamyr. Here we return to the road. We can stop here. For the more courageous, there is the option of climbing the Too Ashu pass/tunnel (3200m) by road. Pass through the tunnel (approx. 3km by minibus as bikes are not allowed) and a huge descent to the village of Sosnovka. Transfer back to Bishkek, dinner and overnight in hotel.
55km / + 750m / - 130m - gravel (Suusamyr option)
or
118km / + 1660m / - 2201m / (option to cross the Too Ashu pass / tunnel (3200m))
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
D9 - Bishkek
Visit to Bishkek and the Osh market where you will find local produce, lunch and dinner at leisure. Storage of bikes in their bags. Short overnight stay as transfer during the night.
Meals included: breakfast
D10 - Transfer to the airport and end of the trip
Meals included: breakfast if departure time permits
Meeting and leaving
Meeting points
-
Manas international airport - Bishkek (FRU) - Kirghizstan
Meeting time: in the morning, at the airport (usually early morning)
Leaving time: in the morning, at the airport (usually early morning)
Rendezvous & dispersal - practical info
Flights to be purchased at your own expense:
Return flight to Bishkek (Manas-FRU) - Kyrgyzstan. Allow around 400-600€. Bicycle transport: approx. €180 return.
Choose Turkish Airlines, which has the best timetables for this trip and handles luggage perfectly.
For reasons of price variation, this trip is sold without flights. However, we can reserve a plane ticket for you if you wish. Don't hesitate to contact us.
We strongly advise you to buy changeable tickets.
Group
From 5 to 12 people
On this type of trip, everyone can ride at their own pace. You don't have to be with the group all the time, or wait for each other. A couple may decide to ride together, for example, or a group of friends, and we'll meet up several times a day to check that everything's going well.
Supervision
Azimut has a state-certified cycling guide. He's there to manage the groups, their efforts, the pace of the day and help with mechanics.
Local English-speaking logistics guide. He'll help you discover the little wonders of the different places you'll pass through. It's an essential link with the locals, the cultures and life in these rugged but beautiful mountains.
We work with a great team of guides. We choose them mainly for their friendliness, their teaching skills and their organisational skills. We listen carefully to our guides, work with them and make sure that their working conditions and pay are the best they can be.
Discover our guides here
Carrying
Saddlebag, handlebar bag, frame bag for a few snacks, windbreaker, gloves, repair kit, radio and water bottle.
In short, everything you need for a day's cycling as well as a trip home.
Your luggage for the trip and your big bag are transported from stage to stage by our assistance vehicle. You just enjoy cycling, and we'll take care of the rest.
Getting around during the trip
Minibus
Technical and physical level
Technical level
This Gravel Bike trip is designed to help you discover the country and its culture. It is of an intermediate technical level, as the roads and tracks in Kyrgyzstan are not like those generally found in the West. Keep your wits about you once you're in the saddle!
Physical fitness
You need to be in good physical condition. You should be used to regular physical activity of the endurance type, capable of covering around 80km a day, sometimes more. Note that the altitude crossed during this trip varies but can be high, up to more than 3500m.
Take it at your own pace
Even if you're part of a group, you can decide to ride alone, as a couple or with friends, without necessarily being with the group all the time. The important thing is that our guide knows this and adapts the organisation. If you get tired, don't worry, you can skip a stage and spend all or part of a day in the minibus. We are in radio contact with the logistics vehicles and with our guide within the group.
Please note: the guide may ask you to leave the group if, in his opinion, you are not at the right level to follow him. Don't hesitate to contact us so that we can check your level together!
Price conditions & insurance
The price includes
- Organisation
- All travel from your arrival at the airport on D1 to your departure from the airport on D10 of your trip
- Accommodation (hotels, homestays, tented camps and yurts) for your various nights, from the night of D1 to the night of D9 before your departure for your return flight from Bishkek
- All meals from the time you arrive at the airport on D1 until breakfast on D9. Lunch and dinner on D9 are at your own expense, as are all meals on D10.
- A cook and his assistant for meals in camp.
- A border permit allowing access to the Chinese border zone.
- The Azimut bicycle guide (DE) and all his expenses (accommodation, meals, travel, etc.)
- Local bike guide and all expenses (accommodation, meals, travel, etc.)
- Radios to keep in touch within the group
- Driver(s) and minibus assistance throughout the trip
- Quality cereal bars
- The AZIMUT welcome pack
The price does not include
- Your Gravel Bike and its transport
- Return flights to Bishkek (Manas-FRU) - Kyrgyzstan
- Extras in accommodation and during meals
- Personal expenses
- Your personal insurance
- And anything else not included in the "price includes" section.
Payment
30% deposit on enrolment + insurance if taken out, balance due 30 days before departure. A reminder e-mail will be sent to you 35 days before departure.
Insurance
It is strongly recommended that you are adequately insured in the event of cancellation. It is compulsory to be insured for search and repatriation costs. When you register, we will offer you the opportunity to take out insurance through our partner insurer, with several options covering the activities on offer and the risks incurred (please note that this insurance is only valid for European nationals).
Important for Kyrgyzstan
Before your stay, it is essential that you are clear about your assistance or insurance contract. This must cover all medical and repatriation costs, which can be very high abroad. Otherwise, the French embassy or consulate general will not be able to pay for any medical treatment or repatriation.
Money - Currency exchange
The currency in Kyrgyzstan is the Som (KGS): €1 = KGS77 (January 2020).
It's very easy to change money or withdraw cash at a bank in Bishkek.
Credit cards are accepted everywhere in the cities.
Guide tip
This is not compulsory, but it is customary for members of the group to tip the French guide at the end of the trip.
For the local teams, the local guide and the driver, it is important to give a tip at the end of the trip (allow between €15 and €25 per person for the guide and the same amount for the driver. Hand over the envelope to each of them personally.
Accommodation and meals
Accommodation & meals during the trip
Depending on the composition of the group, you may be with someone of the opposite sex
Accommodation
- 3 nights in a 3-star hotel. You will stay in a double or twin room, with the possibility of a single room at your own expense (+€135).
- 3 nights' accommodation with local people
- 2 nights in a yurt camp (shared for 2 people) (shower and Russian bania in yurt camp)
- 1 night in a tented camp (shared for 2 people) - equipment provided (no shower in tented camp)
Meals
All meals are included during your stay (full board). Except for lunch and dinner on D9 and meals on D10, which are on your own and at your own expense.
Depending on the programme, different meals are provided, but always local. Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, you'll be in a restaurant, staying with local people, on a picnic or with a cook (included) who will prepare breakfast, lunch or a meal for you in the tent and yurt camps.
Snacks: to boost your energy we've chosen to provide tasty and top quality energy bars.
Accommodation before and after the trip
As soon as you register, we'll send you the names and contact details of accommodation where you can spend the night before or after your trip. This accommodation is located close to the meeting points and you will often benefit from preferential rates.
Visas - Vaccinations - Uses and customs - Formalities
Visa
No visa is required for Kyrgyzstan.
Passport
French, Belgian, Swiss and Canadian citizens are exempt from the vbsa and registration procedure for any tourist or business stay of less than 60 days. They must have a passport valid for at least 6 months after entry for the duration of their stay.
Make sure that the passport has been stamped by a border guard.
Passports must be in perfect condition.
We will need a copy of your passport at least 1 month before your departure.
Permit to enter the Chinese border zone (you are not entering China):
The border permit for China will be obtained by us. Remember to send us a copy of your passport as soon as you register.
Vaccinations
Covid info: the Kyrgyz authorities have reinstated the requirement to present a PCR test. All travellers over the age of six wishing to visit Kyrgyzstan must present the negative results of a PCR test carried out less than 72 hours before entering Kyrgyz territory, regardless of their vaccination status.
No vaccinations are compulsory, but some may be recommended. Make sure you are up to date with your usual vaccinations, as well as those for all the geographical areas you will be visiting.
It is recommended that you keep your diphtheria-tetanus-polio (DTP) and rubella-mumps-measles (MMR) vaccinations up to date. Vaccination against tuberculosis is also advisable.
Depending on local travel conditions, vaccinations against typhoid fever and viral hepatitis A and B may be recommended.
Vaccination against rabies may also be advisable in certain cases, depending on the conditions and location of your stay. Ask your doctor or an international vaccination centre for advice.
For all other information on health risks, please consult the Kyrgyzstan MAE fact sheet and the China MAE fact sheet.
Telephone - Wifi - Electricity
In the event of an emergency or delay, you can contact our guide, whose number will be given to you before departure. You can also contact Azimut on 04 92 23 07 24. Pass on these contacts to your family and friends before you leave.
Telephone
The telephone network is good, but coverage is patchy in the mountains.
Wifi
There is wifi in all the hotels we visit, wifi in the yurt camp, no wifi in local people's homes.
Electricity
220V, same plugs as in France
Equipment
Don't forget to bring brightly coloured clothes, it's funnier in the photos!
Technical equipment & Safety
- Gravel bike (road bike with rolling off-road tyres - take a width of 45 if possible) with clip-on pedals.
- We recommend 32-34 teeth on the chainring and 42 or 46 teeth on the cassette.
Example of a gravel bike:
https://www.scott-sports.com/fr/fr/products/bike-bikes-road-gravel-cx
- Waterproof handlebar, frame and saddle bags. Ortlieb-type models are ideal for use in all conditions.
- 2 water bottles on the frame + a spare water bottle
- 1 can of micropure to purify water if necessary
- Helmet and goggles compulsory
- Cycling gloves (mountain bike or road) + warm gloves for descents at altitude
- Front and rear lights for the tunnels
- Bike shoes with clips
- A repair kit, including a pair of brake pads (adapted to the correct brake model), an extra derailleur hanger adapted to your bike model, a quick link adapted to your chain, a pump, self-adhesive patches, inner tubes of the correct size... and anything else specific to your bike.
Clothing
This equipment list contains a series of tips on equipment, but it doesn't mean you have to have the latest gear. If you want to re-equip yourself or add to your equipment, take advantage of our advice to get the right gear that's light, warm and comfortable. Good equipment makes for a successful holiday!
Headwear
- Sunglasses (index 3-4) because it's important to protect your eyes, especially at these altitudes. Photochromic lenses adapt to the light and vary from index 2 to 4 to optimise visibility between light and shade. Very practical.
- A helmet
Bodywear
- Technical underwear: long-sleeved top and tights for added warmth under trousers. Tip: Merino wool has the advantage of being highly breathable and antibacterial, so it retains odours less than synthetic materials. Think about it if you need to re-equip yourself.
- Short-sleeved cycling jersey - Not too tight for the girls (this isn't Ibiza, remember?).
- Long-sleeved cycling jacket or fleece
- Synthetic down jacket with hood to slip under the Gore Tex for extra warmth during breaks
- Large down jacket for evening camps
- Jacket and trousers with a waterproof, breathable membrane such as Gore Tex or Soft Shell, lightweight and compressible to take up less space in the rucksack.
- Mountain bike shorts. Ideal for this type of "travel" activity.
- Tights to wear under shorts in cool weather. Bike arm warmers and leg warmers are an excellent way of quickly switching to uphill or downhill mode. They give you the warmth you need for morning starts or long rides in the shade.
- Light gloves (fleece or Soft Shell) / Warm gloves with waterproof and breathable Gore Tex-type membrane for the day of the ascent and descent at altitude and on cool days.
- Swimsuit: it takes up so little space in your luggage that it would be a shame not to have it if you need it! Avoid shorts, as they are not widely accepted in swimming pools and baths.
Footwear
- Cycling shoes (clips or not, it's your choice)
- Cycling socks. Merinos wool has the advantage of being highly breathable and antibacterial, so it retains odours less than synthetic materials. Think about it if you need to re-equip yourself.
- Slippers or Crocs recommended for the evening.
Luggage & miscellaneous
- 1L water bottle, thermos flask or Camelback, pocket knife, duck tape (resistant scoth), sun cream factor 50.
- Sleeping bag (-15°C comfort)
- 110-litre duffle bag, to be left at the accommodation or in the vehicle. No hard cases.
- Special travel bag for your bike
- Snacks, local specialities from your region, a good wine, snacks, etc.
Toiletry bag & first-aid kit
- Toiletry bag with personal kit
- We advise you to use the Iffremont website to put together your first-aid kit.
Our partner brands
Our guides are equipped in these brands and you will be able to see and test the equipment on our trips:
We are members of APST.
And last but not least...
Don't forget to
- Leave our contact details with your friends and family
- Take your identity papers (up-to-date passport and visa for trips requiring them)
- Take your policy number and the details of your insurer if you have not taken out insurance with Azimut
- Take your Vitale card and we also recommend the European Health Insurance Card - free of charge and on request: www.ameli.fr
- Check that you have the required equipment
- Take batteries / chargers for your camera / avalanche transceiver
- Leave cool and relaxed, you'll be fine! The scenery and the memories you'll bring back will be many!
- Before you leave, water the plants, take out the bins, turn off the water and gas, and tell your partner (other than by text message) that you're going to have a great time... because you really need it! Anything you forget in this last recommendation will come back with a vengeance when you return.
We'll be waiting for you! Have a great trip with AZIMUT!